# Morphing Architecture / Armando Reyes Vazquez

Morphing Architecture is a project published into Jeong Der-Ho's book Responsive Volatility. It was a designed by a former Bartlett student, Armando Reyes Vazquez.

Morphing Architecture began as a one of the last design explorations while doing the master in architectural design at the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, London. At this stage the project was called "Morphing Camden" cause it was site specific ( Camden,London) The main agenda of the project was to explore the performance of architecture during adaptation and the "hibridization phenomena", this due to the increasing need of architecture to adapt to various situations in the most effective way, increasing the potential of the architectural intervention as a catalyst enabling new ways of adaptation and manipulation of the space.

In this image are shown two diagrams of interaction vs. program for a specific situation, defining multiple formal configuration for hybrid activities.

Along the performance diagrams ,alternative diagrams were developed, in the image above there is a mapping of the circulation patterns followed by users through the first layout of the project.

Elements called "morphing ramps" were developed in order to create a responsive environment based on the requieremts of the programs, type of users, weather conditions and time of day, these ramps work as a pnemutaic conveyor belt, there were seven of this ramps attached to a shell concieved as a conventional element that would conect the responsive environment to an existing underground station. In this image the ramps are responding to the following conditions:Summer, Sunday, 12:00, 25C, Hybrid program of public space + Retail.

This is an X-Ray view through the Camden project, in here only three of the seven morphing ramps, each one in a different responsive stage, the one in the left providing a contained private space in a higher level and a public open space at the lower level, the one in the middle in one of the morphing stages deflating and inflating certain elemts to aqcuire the form in the third ramo which is a single facade open in two half levels.

A ghosted image of 2 hours of morphing sequences where one can see the non stop change of the ramps.

For extra responsivness, elements of another scale were develop so the adaptation of the whole thing could go from the main programmatic activities to the needs that were a consequence of these ones, these elements follow the same principals that the ramp and work as pneumatic devices as well. They respond to activities such as retail, shelter, food bending or consumption + weather + user + others.

Zoom of the XS responsive elements, main pneumatic core, secondary light metal structure plus anchorage elements and inflating pipes.

Shown in here one of the many possible configuration inside the morphing ramps with the XS ramps atached to it .

But Morphing Camden was just an excuse, the same principals could be applied for a number of different scenarios, if these ramps were to be self supported by only changing the specifications on the secondary structure the possibilities are endless, in a planet full of disasters, the red cross could have one or many of these cost efficent morphing architectures where these could be used as endless shelters (left) for people in need, medical stations or storage (right).

There are many other scenarios in which minor adaptations would allow this morphing device to perform at full capacity and enhance the program or the solutions to a problem. Acting as the catalyst mention before. ...anywhere or everywhere, this is architecture as a chameleon blending into our times.